Marry Me Twice, Mr. Granger novel · Chapter 19 of 24

Chapter 19: Her Terms

On Friday at eight, Rhodri stood at the foot of the iron stairs with nothing in his hands.

He had even left his coat.

"I said bring nothing," I said from the landing. "I didn't mean the coat."

"It's October."

"The furnace is on."

He took the stairs one at a time, looking up at me.

My mother's office was warm and orange, lit only through the window by the banked furnace below.

I had cleared her desk, and I had put two chairs on opposite sides of it.

"Sit," I said.

He sat.

I stayed on my feet with a pen and a yellow legal pad, the way she used to when a supplier wanted to talk price.

"These aren't rules," I said. "I'm done with rules."

"What are they?"

"Terms. They're mine, and I wrote them down so you can see them."

I read from the pad.

"One. Nothing gets paid for me. Not a dinner, not a car, not a lease."

"If I want it, I earn it or I go without."

"Agreed."

"Two. If you're afraid of something, you say so the same day. Out loud. Not in a drawer."

His mouth twitched.

"There are twelve letters in that drawer."

"I know how many. I'm not angry about them anymore."

"I just don't want any more of them."

He looked down at the desk.

"Three," I said. "You don't guess what I'd allow."

"You say what you want, and I say yes or no, and either way you've asked."

"What do I want tonight?" he said.

"You tell me."

"You," Rhodri said, simply. "On any terms. On whatever floor."

My pulse went up under my sweater.

"Four. I decide when."

"Is that a term or a threat?"

"It's my pad."

He laughed, low, and the sound went right through me.

"May I add one?"

"No."

"I'll keep a copy of it in my head, then."

I put the pen down.

"I'm not saying yes to anything but this room," I said. "Come around the desk."

He did.

I took him by the front of his shirt and walked him backward.

My mother's old leather chair stood by the window, the big one that still smelled of her tobacco.

I pushed him into it.

"Hands on the arms."

He put them there.

"They stay there until I say."

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